What is the Best Depiction of Christmas in Literature?

Christina · Post by **Christina** » Fri December 19th, 2008, 2:02 pm

Dickens always comes to mind for his depictions of Christmas. My favourite Christmas scene isn't Tiny Tim's family, but the wonderful party at Mr. Fezziwig's. As a child, I always wanted to roll up the carpet and have a similar celebration but it didn't really work

What is your favourite Christmas scene from a novel?

boswellbaxter · Post by **boswellbaxter** » Fri December 19th, 2008, 2:06 pm

There's a great Christmas scene in The Pickwick Papers also.

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Fri December 19th, 2008, 4:52 pm

I always loved the Christmases Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about. I think my favorite is one of the early ones, from Little House on the Prairie:

Laura and Mary never would have looked in their stockings again. The cups and the cakes and the candy were almost too much. They were too happy to speak.
But Ma asked if they were sure the stockings were empty.

Then they put their hands down inside them, to make sure.

And in the toe of each stocking was a shining, bright new penny!

They had never thought of such a thing as having a penny. Think of having a whole penny for your very own. Think of having a cup and a cake and a stick of candy and a penny.

There never had been such a Christmas.

(Little House on the Prairie, p. 250)

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Fri December 19th, 2008, 10:37 pm

I was thinking you'd probably have to separate American and English Christmas scenes, but seeing how many of our traditions and images come from English christmas via Dickens, not sure it matters...

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Fri December 19th, 2008, 11:35 pm

I like the scenes from "Little Women".

SM

diamondlil · Post by **diamondlil** » Sat December 20th, 2008, 12:04 am

Sherry at Semicolon blog has been posting Christmas extracts from a number of novels for the last couple of weeks.

The authors include Sharon Kay Penman, Ann Rinaldi and settings are varied as well.

If you are interested in taking a look then click here.

lindymc · Post by **lindymc** » Sat December 20th, 2008, 12:48 pm

When I first started teaching, back in the '60s, I read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books to my fifth graders. I still remember their astounded, actually shocked, reaction to that description of the Christmas that MLE referred to. Mostly it all boiled down to "That's all??!!!" And perhaps even more unbelievable to those children was the joy and excitement that Laura and Mary expressed over what was, to my students, a very insignificant gift.

Julianne Douglas · Post by **Julianne Douglas** » Sat December 20th, 2008, 4:33 pm

I always remember the Christmas scenes from Little House on the Prairie, too. I've been thinking I need to reread those books again. I was always sad my own daughter never wanted to read them.

My favorite depiction of the Christmas spirit (in fact, I'm just about to blog about it) is O.Henry's short story, "The Gift of the Magi." Here's a link; if you've never read it, give yourself a gift and do so. It's very short, but wonderful.

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Sat December 20th, 2008, 11:58 pm

[quote=""Julianne Douglas""]
My favorite depiction of the Christmas spirit (in fact, I'm just about to blog about it) is O.Henry's short story, "The Gift of the Magi." Here's a link; if you've never read it, give yourself a gift and do so. It's very short, but wonderful.[/quote]

That is indeed a lovely story, and one that got me hooked on O Henry. BTW another of interest is The Other Wise Man

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Other-Wise- ... 0345406958

I have been 'forced' to read various Christmas books over the years for book groups. The above two so evoke the holidays message that there is almost no need for more.

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Sun December 21st, 2008, 4:25 am

I find "The Gift of the Magi" almost unbearably sad.